[[9]] Greenwald and Rich, The Happy Person, p. 29.
[[10]] Greenwald and Rich, The Happy Person, p. 29.
APPLICATIONS OF DIRECT DECISION THERAPY
As we have seen, direct decision therapy is based on the assumption that you are able to begin to exercise self-discipline and that you are willing to give up the real payoffs that being emotionally troubled frequently does achieve.
These interrelated things—ability and willingness to change—simply are not present in many people who enter therapy. They come to therapy for a variety of other, often unconscious, reasons: for temporary comforting, for escape from an upsetting situation or environment, or for a chance to release painful feelings and to express painful thoughts. Clients come in order to procrastinate; they come to prove to themselves that they simply can't change and that the therapist just isn't good enough. They come out of anger, frustration, despair. But comparatively few enter therapy because they really are persuaded they can change and are committed to bringing change about.
These people are unquestionably the most promising candidates for any approach to psychotherapy. Clients who come to therapy for other reasons make up the daily challenge and the daily frustration, concern, worry, and hope of the therapist. The therapist believes that, in time, and with proper treatment, people who are imprisoned within walls of their own habits can rally the determination and faith to tear them down and to gain a measure of personal freedom.
In this author's judgment, direct decision therapy, perhaps more than any other approach, relies on a client's determination and perseverance. If these personality qualities are there, or if they can successfully be encouraged by a good therapist, the approach can be effective with a very wide range of problems.
[W]hat ... many ... patients proved to me is that, given the choice to be happy, many unhappy people are able to decide that happiness is what they want. Then ... they develop the ability to experience their problems in a different way.[[11]]
[[11]] Greenwald and Rich, The Happy Person, p. 53.